1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a device for connecting ends of two optical fibers comprising a base member including, on a major side, a fiber end-receiving groove for aligning and abutting the fiber ends on either side of a connection plane, and a bent spring fastener including on either side of a fastener bend, a flexible portion over the major side of the base member and a second portion contacting the base member.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A device for connecting optical fibers from two linear arrays or ribbons of optical fibers situated two-by-two on a flat base member including several parallel spaced fiber-receiving grooves is described in French patent application No. 2,255,618. With reference to FIGS. 3 and 5 in this patent application, a bent spring fastener contains two straight-armed set-square type members oppositely arranged along a groove designed to receive two optical fibers included in the arrays to be abutted. Each set-square member has a flexible arm which is parallel to the groove and pinches a section of an optical fiber remote from the fiber connection plane. The optical fiber passes through the other arm of the set-square member which lies perpendicular to the groove, and which is simply slotted in a notch in the base member. The flexible arms of the two set-square members serve the sole purpose of holding the two fibers in the groove. To fix the fiber ends in the groove and hold the two fibers abutted endface-to-endface therein a pressing bar coated with rubber, bears in pressure contact in line with the fiber connection plane above the groove and between the flexible arms of the set-square members. The pressing bar must be withdrawn in order to introduce into or extract the fiber ends from the groove and to separate the flexible arms of the set square members from the base member. Further, by separating the flexible arms of the set-square members, said set-square members can be withdrawn from the base member.
Other devices for connecting two linear arrays or ribbons of optical fibers comprising U-shaped spring fasteners, analogous to clips, are disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,146,301 with reference to FIG. 3 and in the article by M. I. Schwartz entitled "DESIGN AND PERFORMANCE OF THE FT3 LIGHTGUIDE TRUNK TRANSMISSION MEDIUM", INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON COMMUNICATIONS, Vol. 1, pages 6.1.1. to 6.1.8., June 14-18, 1981, Denver, Colo. (U.S.), with reference to FIG. 6. The U-shaped spring fasteners do not directly press the optical fibers in the grooves of a grooved flat base member or substrate, instead the spring fasteners are used in assembling the various components of the connecting device, such as the three components of a cover and the base member, or intermediate components and the composite base member. The U-shaped spring fasteners are not secured to the base member but slip over the base member and cover or the intermediate components to secure the base member and the cover in mating engagement. Here again, optical fiber connection requires disassembling and assembling operations on the components making up the device.
Additionally, the above-described connecting devices are relatively bulky and do not permit two optical fibers included in two optical fiber cables to be individually connected.